The plan

A few yeas ago I decided on a different way of planning a trip. Follow the Mekong from the nearest place to the source right all the way to the delta. I looked up the coordinates of the source, copied them in Google maps, draw the river and put Google Earth underneath. Then I scrolled until I found what looked like a monastery with a lot of Stupa's in a distinct pattern and a huge mount of prayer flags. I put the map underneath again and the place was named Zadoi, at the end of the provincial road. So I went.

Zadoi or Qapugtang.

Zadoi is actually the name of the county, although on the map the town also is named Zadoi. The actual name is Qapugtang, in Chinese Saguteng or Sahutengzen. It is a town of about 7000 people at an altitude of about 4070 meter. The town is on both sides of the Mekong river called Zha'a Qu in these parts. The river is a slow and orange-red colored stream, at least in May when I was there. This stream, the backdrop of mountains and the colors at this altitude make for some great views.

Dongzen Gompa

The monastery with the prayer flags and the stupa's. At least that is wat it is called on Google maps. Si Gön Tashi Chöling or Siri Si are other names I found. A big place with quite a lot of living- and prayer-space. However is seemed quite deserted.

The Caterpillar fungus

The thing that I noticed most about the town of Qapugtang was the amount of big and expensive SUV's. How do people in this remote and quite barren high altitude county get so obviously rich. The answer is the Caterpillar Fungus or Cordyceps Sinensis. Also known as the Aphrodisiac of the Himalaya's. It is a fungus that infects a caterpillar. This parasite paralyzes the Caterpillar and at the end a small root-like fungus grows from the caterpillars head. The Caterpillar Fungus, that only grows at certain altitudes and in certain county's is known for its medicinal value and as an aphrodisiac. It goes for 50.000 dollar per kilogram, thus explaining the wealth of the traders in the region.